Kade Ruotolo and his twin brother Tye Ruotolo have taken the grappling world by storm. Over the years the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu aces have made a name for themselves by competing against some of the best in the world. Whilst they have been unbeatable for the most part, Kade reveals what happens when the two brothers mix it up amongst themselves.
For those unaware, Kade and his brother Tye Ruotolo hail from Hawaii, United States, and have been competing in Jiu-Jitsu tournaments from a very young age. Having learned from their father since they were 3 years old, the twins have gone on to find a lot of success on the international stage.
Currently, Kade Ruotolo is the ONE Championship’s Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion, competing at 170 lbs while his brother Tye competes and is the Submission Grappling World Champion at 185 lbs. All things considered, the brothers have made with their exemplary performances, all at the age of just 21 years.
Kade Ruotolo shares what it’s like to face his own brother in competition
Notably, Kade Ruotolo, just like his twin Tye, sports an unblemished 5-0 record in ONE Championship. During his relatively brief tenure in the promotion, Kade has bested the likes of Tommy Langaker (x2) and Shinya Aoki, some of the most reputed athletes in the field. However, when it comes to people who have beaten him, many may struggle to come up with too many names.
As such, in a recent episode of the JAXXON Podcast with Quinton Jackson and Bear Degidio, Kade revealed how the showdowns between him and his brother have gone down. Whilst they practice together for the most part, they have also faced each other in competition on three separate occasions.
“So my brother and I, we fought at the brown belt Worlds Finals, and the winner of the brown belt Worlds Finals goes straight to black belt. So we fought in the final and it was a crazy match, I was winning the whole fight and then he ended up arm-baring me.”
“We fought three times before, and it drives me crazy ’cause he got me all three. But the first one, I should have won for sure, you know, my family and everyone says the first one is mine. Second one, he caught me with a kneebar, and the third one, I was killing him like the whole match, smashing him, smashing him, and then at the very end he catches me with an armbar.”
Thus, whilst Kade Ruotolo has lost to his brother on three occasions, he believes that the tie could easily have been 2-1. However, considering where they are in their lives right now, it is difficult to see them compete against each other. Moreover, despite the win or loss, there is no bad blood between the twins and they continue to push each other the best they can.
Have Kade and Tye Ruotolo ever competed together?
With that said, we finally know what happened each time Kade Ruotolo squared off against his twin brother Tye. However, many may be wondering as to what happens when the two compete alongside each other as well. As such, going through their records, it is clear to see that the brothers have almost never lost whilst competing together.
Over the years, the Ruotolo twins have competed side by side at the 2021 FloGrappling WNO Championship. Notably, both brothers won all three of their bouts for the tournament. However, when the two competed at the ADCC World Championship in 2022, Kade Ruotolo won all four of his bouts while Tye managed to win 2 out of 4. With that said, the two even made their ONE Championship debuts together.
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On the night, Kade Ruotolo dominated Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki, whilst Tye submitted grappling star and MMA standout Garry Tonon with a D’Arce choke. Thereafter the twins repeated the feat at ONE Fight Night 5, with both winning their respective bouts. Now, the two will be looking to repeat the feat for the third time at ONE Fight Night 21 on April 5, 2024.